Links: 2009-07-15

  • Sotomayor Surprises Sessions — Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire

    Another example of how the GOP must be careful to not look anti-Hispanic.

  • James Galbraith Testimony on Fed

    Galbraith opines on Fed as super-regulator and other good stuff like whether the FMC voting arrangement is constitutional

  • Gallery – The enemy within: 10 human parasites – New Scientist

    Warning: don’t view images while eating.

  • Video – GOP Looks To Score Points In Sotomayor Hearings – WSJ.com

    Jerry Seib shows how the GOP will try to score points But, I think his is a risky strategy given the upcoming election for governor in Texas and the large Hispanic population there.

  • Autos lift retail sales as inflation perks up – Reuters

    The inflation should reverse itself out in July on drop in oil.

  • Rise in eurozone factory output – BBC News

    First monthly rise since August 2008

  • Central Bank chief predicts no recovery in Ireland until 2011 – Independent.ie

    This runs counter to what is being said for the UK. More similar to Spain.

  • Dishonesty Involves Activity In Control-related Brain Networks, Neuroimaging Study Suggests

    "A new study of the cognitive processes involved with honesty suggests that truthfulness depends more on absence of temptation than active resistance to temptation."

  • Autism alters how kids sense motion – New Scientist

    Autistic children may focus on sensations over visuals.

  • Goldman’s getting riskier – Tracy Alloway, FT Alphaville

    VAR measure is now higher

  • Look abroad for cheaper health care – MSN Money

    "Travel agents aren’t the only ones luring Americans abroad with big discounts this year. The overseas surgery industry, once a slightly scary medical niche, has taken off to a remarkable degree, its rise fueled by the continued rise in U.S. health care costs and by an economy that is creating an army of underinsured Americans looking for bargains."

  • Do Banks need more capital? – Bill Black

    I say yes. Here Black talks about what the stress tests missed.

  • Time to tackle the real evil: too much debt – Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Mark Spitznagel

    Some innovative thinking on finance and housing. Hat tip Mark Thoma.

  • Home Prices Play Big Role in Americans’ Decision to Move – Real Time Economics – WSJ

    House and mortgage as ball & chain.

  • PJB: How to Handle Sonia – Patrick J. Buchanan

    Buchanan has it right when he says: "Republicans have been given fair warning. Should GOP senators treat Sonia Sotomayor as contemptuously as Democrats treated Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito, they should expect Hispanic hostility for a generation." The rest of what he says is partisan and conservative, but interesting to read.

  • financial newsJames Galbraith